In the last article, I promised a chart to show how the web-based application of Google and Zoho lined up with Microsoft‘s offerings. This will help in determining whether your company’s technology strategy might benefit from web-based products.
Microsoft | Zoho | |
Word | Docs | Writer |
Excel | Docs | Sheet |
Outlook | Gmail/Calendar | Mail/Planner |
Publisher | Page Creator | |
PowerPoint | Presentations | Show |
Access | Creator | |
OneNote | Notebook | Notebook |
Search | Search | |
Chat | Chat | Chat |
Desktop | ||
Picasa | ||
Blogger | ||
Groups | ||
Web Alerts | ||
Reader (RSS) | ||
Maps | Maps | |
Meeting | ||
Projects | ||
CRM | ||
Wiki | ||
Polls |
As you can see, the basics are covered, with extras from Google and Zoho. In fairness to Microsoft, they are adding new web-based applications as part of their Live website, but the purpose of this series is to determine if expensive desktop software can be replaced by free or in-expensive web-applications.
Not a Perfect Match
You will notice that each application doesn’t have a perfect match across the board, but in most cases, there is a program that is related in functions. Some of the distinctions between the programs are covered in previous articles in the series, but I’ll take a closer look at the main applications that are shared between all the contenders.
Specifically, I will continue the series with a look at real-life use of the word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and mail/calendar programs. Do these programs translate into everyday use, or are they just not adequate?
Tip of the Iceberg
There are many other web-based applications in daily use by thousands of people. This list of Microsoft, Google, and Zoho products is just the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds of applications reside on the web, and in the coming months, I will write about them, too.
This Web-Based Application series serves one purpose—to whet your appetite to the possibilities—to begin the discussion of what can be done with programming code and a little secret sauce.